Broken
by Shattered Spectre
Summary: The emotional toll on Team RWBY is wearing them down slowly. Will they be able to hold together as a team, or will they be torn apart?
1. Tears in the Dark

**Broken Ch.1**

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_White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test._

_Truer words had never been spoken about Weiss. She was indeed cold. Years of isolation and being taught that everyone in the world was out to either facilitate her downfall, or stand by as it happened. It got to her after a while, and eventually seeped into her personality, becoming part of her. Deep on the inside, all of the time spent wanting nothing more than to feel love from her family and compassion from her friends that she never had, slowly broke her. _

Weiss stood in front of the mirror. She looked up, and all she saw was the same image of the emotionally frayed girl, staring back at her, _mocking her for what she was._ Pain surged through her chest as she saw the scar that was a result of her father's training exercise, forever maiming what was a perfect face. A voice tugged from within; reminding her she will never be good enough. It sounded eerily like her father.

She reached up to her scar, tracing it lightly. Tears formed in her eyes. She blinked them back, a habit of being taught emotion is weakness, and weakness ends in death. It didn't matter now, though. Weiss turned and opened the door, stepping into the room. It was her new home, but it felt void of the warmth and comfort usually found there.

Calmly, she changed into her nightgown, fighting back the flurry of emotions that begged to be released. Slowly, she walked across the room, doing her best to shove all of her memories out of her mind. She flipped the light switch, engulfing the room in darkness. Weiss had only been there for a few days, but she had committed the layout of the room to memory. Trudging along, she made her way over to her bunk and dropped onto her bed. Pulling the covers up over her, she adjusted herself so that she faced the wall. Eyes closed, she let everything out. Tears rolled as she let out a pained moan into her pillow, emitting a muffled sound. Weiss eventually drifted off, succumbing to a nightmare that was very familiar, one that entailed her hurting the person she hated, but cared for the most, and the closest thing she had to a friend: Ruby Rose.

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**For those who don't know:** I had a story up called "_They're all Broken on the Inside"._ I lost where I was going with the story, so I took it down. It was never beta'd by Proto, and I was reluctant to even mention the story was still on my hard drive. However, after time, I thought of where I could take it. So I handed it off, and this is what I got back.

Anyway, chapters are short, story is sad-ish. More soon.


	2. It's Just a Nightmare

**Broken Ch.2**

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_Ruby is a child. No matter what, that will always hold her down. Being at Beacon is a mistake. She knows she is simply a victim of right place, right time. Weiss knows it as well, almost automatically sorting her out from the rest. Ruby only wants to be the leader her team needs, but the overactive happiness is the result of being hurt time and time again, losing the ones closest to you. An eagerness to please everyone is the product of never being told she had done well. What everyone assumes is an optimistic girl, high on life, is actually a girl who had been put through hell and came out the other side emotionally shredded. The people on the outside only know the part of Ruby that is protecting herself from further damage. That's the only side of Ruby anyone would ever know._

The cold snow fell as Ruby looked up at the building. The night was cool and crisp, wind shrieking through the trees behind her. She scanned along the wall of windows until she saw the one she was looking for. A window to a room with a warm glow of light. The light that illuminated the room from the inside lasted only a few moments before went out. A chilly wind blew Ruby's red cloak around her. Reaching her hands back, she pulled her hood up over her head. A solemn tear appeared as Ruby looked down at the snow around her ankles. Her feet were numb, but she took a step, and turned to face the forest. Looking back over her shoulder one last time at the darkened window, she began walking.

Each step took her away from what was her home, and further into a freezing abyss of snow and trees. The moon gave off a soft white light, reflecting on the ice crystals swirling around her while she continued on. Thoughts tried to push their way into her mind, and were instantly sent into a deep chasm in the back of her subconscious to be dealt with later. Ruby had learned it was best to ignore whatever feelings she had as they only hurt her. This eventually became the mask of happiness she used to put on a show so nobody could see the pain that was there. Emotions had never been her specialty. All she could do was make everyone think she was alright.

Eventually the tree line broke, revealing a clearing, a slight uphill slope brought to a point with a narrow cliff. At its base sat a marker. Ruby trudged up the small climb, reaching her destination that was her mother's grave. Ruby dropped to her knees in front of it, doing her best to keep from losing her composure. She closed her eyes, remembering all of the pain that was associated with the location. She collapsed at the foot of the gravestone, sobbing. Scenes of what had happened played in Ruby's head. Flames and screaming echoed over and over.

Ruby was engulfed in a warm presence. She looked up, tears and snow having soaked her clothes. A vivid figure of a white cloaked female stood on the edge of the cliff. A burning filled Ruby's chest, seeming to draw her to the figure. Slowly, not losing sight of the form, she brought herself to her feet. A small distance separated them. Ruby recognized the shinning white cloak, and the burning grew unbearable. Running as fast as she could, she held her arms out, wanting to be held by her mother again. The ghostly image didn't move as the girl rushed towards it. As Ruby was within an inch of grasping the phantom, it disappeared, sending Ruby over the edge of the cliff. Patches of black appeared in her vision until all of her senses were gone.

Fear and adrenaline forced Ruby to bolt upright in her bunk, tears still wet on her face. A cold chill ran down her spine as she realized what had happened. Sweat beads began forming as her nerves settled and breathing slowed. Silence filled the dark room, all except for a faint sound. Crying coming from right beneath her.

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**A/N**:So this is the second chapter. Progress is being made.


	3. Unhappy Awakening

**Broken Ch. 3**

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_Everyone has told Blake to let go of her past; that if she accomplishes that, everything will be fine. But her past is unlike many others in the fact that it doesn't want to be forgotten. It's followed her, wreaking havoc on whatever chance at having a real life she had. Nobody could help her. All who stood by her were picked off slowly, one by one. She couldn't stop it; No matter how much she warned them, or did her best to distance herself, they were all gone in a matter of days. Eventually she had snapped emotionally, stopping herself from connecting with anyone. Blake never stopped being herself. She read, but she spent most of her time writing in her journal long into the night. Dark thoughts swirled on those pages, shinning a light on just how disturbed Blake really was. But it gave her peace of mind, so she wrote. But the words would always come back to haunt her. Just like her past, they were part of Blake herself._

Blake's words echoed volumes in her mind as she read the entry she had written in her journal that night. Her team, dead. School, destroyed. The dream she had the previous night was still freshly burned into her conscious mind. Blake wanted to get away, to prevent any of that from happening. A part of her wanted to forget all about the school where she had made her home, to erase everyone she knew from memory, and let it all go without a second thought. It would be easier that way. Just less pain to deal with later on. She had done it so many times before, but this time was different. A larger part of her wanted to stay, facing her past head on with a team behind her.

Tired, Blake fought to stay awake as she scanned the last page. A feeling tugged at the back of her mind, jolting her mind awake. It was a feeling she knew all too well. Snapping her journal shut, she grabbed her things and hastily put them into her satchel. Bursting through the library doors, she ran off down the hallway towards her dorm. The feeling was growing stronger and it could only mean her team was in trouble. Blake's past was catching up with her once again, and this time, she vowed for her team's sake, she would stop it. Her heart beat faster as she readied herself for the fight to come.

Reaching the floor her dorm was on, she raced down to the door, not stopping before bursting in. There was no fight, there was nothing. Just a cold and bright room. She turned looked around, noticing the door was now just a solid white wall. The room darkened. Blake was glancing in all directions trying to make sure nothing caught her off guard, but nothing showed. The color of the room changed to a warm tint. White floor molded into pale trees, slowly filling with color. Red leaves formed into a maroon red forest, familiarity storming Blake's mind. All around her were leaves and trees going on and on. A sound broke the silence in the distance, almost mechanic. The ground shook as Blake took off in the direction of the noise.

Running, her heart pounded in her chest, anxiety and confusion driving her to keep going. No matter how much she ran, it seemed as though progress was never made. Pushing past more and more foliage, trees slowly made room for a clearing. The mechanical sound was off in the distance, but getting louder. Stepping into the middle of the area, she looked around at her feet, trying to find anything to hint at where she was. Using her right leg, she moved some leaves to reveal a shiny metal object.

Blake stooped down to examine the object. She tried picking it up, but it wouldn't budge. The sound was getting closer. She brushed more leaves, and still more of the shiny object appeared. Metal branched out to the right, linking it to another long object, almost like braces. Questions ran through Blake's mind, putting the noise out of her consciousness.

"_Where have I seen this forest before? Why does this seem so familiar? What is that sound?"_ Her thoughts continued until the rumbling returned, breaking her concentration.

"Wait…" She whispered out loud. "This is a railroad…" She looked up, one last glance before the mechanical _chug, chug, chug, _returned from right behind her. She spun around quickly, paralyzed with fear as the train collided with her body and the world went numb.

Blake jumped up from her library chair with a scream, immediately silencing herself after noticing her location. She looked around quickly for her scroll. Finding it, she picked it up and looked at the time. 3:58 A.M. She really was tired. Quickly, a message notification popped up on screen from Ruby.

"_Come quick. I can hear Weiss crying, and I don't know what to do, and I can't see Yang in her bunk."_

"_Weiss? Crying? What kind of sick nightmare am I in now?"_ Blake thought as she put down her scroll and started packing up to head for the team's dorm.

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**A/N:** Last chapter for today. More later.


	4. A Long Way From Home

_Yang liked to believe she was a good sister. There was never a time Ruby needed her and she wasn't there. Right? There was, without a doubt, no point Ruby had been in a dire situation and Yang had not come through for her. Cognitive dissonance is a terrible thing..._

"Yang, can you get to the dorm, the princess is crying and Ruby has no idea what's going on and neither do I." -Blake

Yang read the message on her scroll. What had happened? She went out to pick up a book for Blake and ended up giving in to her drinking habits. Naturally, Ruby just had to get herself into another issue she couldn't fix on her own.

Now, Yang pondered not going home and just staying with a friend for the night. Why should she? She didn't have Blake's book, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with a spoiled crybaby and a waspish little girl.

Two good reasons not to head back to Beacon. Was there a third? How about the fact Blakey wouldn't like that she went out for a book and came back drunk. Yes, there it was... the complications of drinking and having a "good girl" girlfriend.

Yang looked around the room. Filthy men and women were everywhere. The bar she sat at was away from everyone else, but close enough the bartender to keep her glass filed. The atmosphere was heavy with cigarette smoke and regurgitated drinks.

Yang figured there just weren't enough classy drinkers in Vale to keep the place at a higher standard.

It didn't matter. As long as she got quality alcohol, she'd put up with the horrible crowd.

She looked down at her glass. It was half empty. Or was it half full? Yang just wished someone would figure out the damn answer so it would stop bugging her.

Might as well make it all empty. She downed the drink. Would she go back? At least she could sleep on her own bed after a thorough talk with Blake.

Yeah, why not. She goes hopped off the bar stool she sat on and made her way through the building and out the door without too much trouble.

Now where did she park Bumblebee? Shouldn't be too hard to find, it's a big yellow motorcycle.

After searching for a good half hour, and ignoring a "where the hell are you?" from Blake, she found it about five meters from the entrance to the bar. How quaint.

Throwing on her helmet and getting on her ride, she wondered if it would be safe to drive home.

It's only a few miles, what harm could it do?

She started the ignition and Bumblebee roared to life, and she was off.

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So this story. It's... Very somber. Oh well.


End file.
